Let me ask you a question: How toxic is our environment? I’m sure you are aware that are environment is toxic, but have you ever researched just how many chemicals we are exposed to? Well, if you haven’t that’s ok because I’m going to share some statistics with you. On a daily basis, we are exposed to 80,000 chemicals in the United States. Just let that number sink in, 80,000. Wow! It is hard for me to wrap my head around that number.
Now our liver is working triple overtime to rid our body of these toxins so that we may continue to live. Some of the most common symptoms of liver toxicity are fatigue, dehydration, headaches, and fat accumulation below the waist. Today we’re going to look at one of the major contributors of our exposure of daily toxicity: solvents. Most common solvents used daily by Americans are lotions, shampoos, and conditioners.
In today’s lotions it is common to see at least 32 ingredients. One of the ingredients used in lotions that is extremely toxic is parabens. Parabens are preservatives used in the food, pharmaceutical, and personal care industries to extend the shelf life of products. Parabens mimic estrogen and studies have shown that widely used parabens possess properties of estrogen. That doesn’t sound too good. Even worse scientific research and data has shown that parabens are linked to breast cancer progression and initiation. Can you guess which one of your favorite brands uses parabens in their lotions??? If you said Johnson & Johnson then you are correct. Yes, millions of children are being exposed to cancerous chemicals from their very early beginnings. I sadly have to admit that I used Johnson & Johnson lotion on my son when he was a baby. Maybe the old saying is true, “What you don’t know will kill you.”
If you want to limit your exposure to toxic and cancerous chemicals on a daily basis then start using lotions, shampoos, deodorants, conditioners, and toothpaste that do not contain toxic chemicals. To make sure you are using the right stuff head over to www.ewg.org. Once you’ve made these simple changes then you’re already giving your liver a huge break.
Another way to speed up the process of detoxifying your liver is through sweat. Yes, sweat is one of the major three ways that are liver rids our body of toxins, alongside urine and poop. So if you aren’t exercising regularly to the point where you breaking a good sweat, then you are short changing yourself. And remember, knowledge without application is powerless.